TY - JOUR
T1 - SARS-CoV-2 in animals
T2 - susceptibility of animal species, risk for animal and public health, monitoring, prevention and control
AU - Nielsen, Søren Saxmose
AU - Alvarez, Julio
AU - Bicout, Dominique Joseph
AU - Calistri, Paolo
AU - Canali, Elisabetta
AU - Drewe, Julian Ashley
AU - Garin-Bastuji, Bruno
AU - Gonzales Rojas, José Luis
AU - Gortázar, Christian
AU - Herskin, Mette
AU - Michel, Virginie
AU - Miranda Chueca, Miguel Ángel
AU - Padalino, Barbara
AU - Pasquali, Paolo
AU - Roberts, Helen Clare
AU - Spoolder, Hans
AU - Velarde, Antonio
AU - Viltrop, Arvo
AU - Winckler, Christoph
AU - Adlhoch, Cornelia
AU - Aznar, Inmaculada
AU - Baldinelli, Francesca
AU - Boklund, Anette
AU - Broglia, Alessandro
AU - Gerhards, Nora
AU - Mur, Lina
AU - Nannapaneni, Priyanka
AU - Ståhl, Karl
AU - EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW)
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH on behalf of European Food Safety Authority.
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - The epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in humans and animals is continually evolving. To date, animal species known to transmit SARS-CoV-2 are American mink, raccoon dog, cat, ferret, hamster, house mouse, Egyptian fruit bat, deer mouse and white-tailed deer. Among farmed animals, American mink have the highest likelihood to become infected from humans or animals and further transmit SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, 44 outbreaks were reported in 2021 in mink farms in seven MSs, while only six in 2022 in two MSs, thus representing a decreasing trend. The introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into mink farms is usually via infected humans; this can be controlled by systematically testing people entering farms and adequate biosecurity. The current most appropriate monitoring approach for mink is the outbreak confirmation based on suspicion, testing dead or clinically sick animals in case of increased mortality or positive farm personnel and the genomic surveillance of virus variants. The genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 showed mink-specific clusters with a potential to spill back into the human population. Among companion animals, cats, ferrets and hamsters are those at highest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which most likely originates from an infected human, and which has no or very low impact on virus circulation in the human population. Among wild animals (including zoo animals), mostly carnivores, great apes and white-tailed deer have been reported to be naturally infected by SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, no cases of infected wildlife have been reported so far. Proper disposal of human waste is advised to reduce the risks of spill-over of SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife. Furthermore, contact with wildlife, especially if sick or dead, should be minimised. No specific monitoring for wildlife is recommended apart from testing hunter-harvested animals with clinical signs or found-dead. Bats should be monitored as a natural host of many coronaviruses.
AB - The epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in humans and animals is continually evolving. To date, animal species known to transmit SARS-CoV-2 are American mink, raccoon dog, cat, ferret, hamster, house mouse, Egyptian fruit bat, deer mouse and white-tailed deer. Among farmed animals, American mink have the highest likelihood to become infected from humans or animals and further transmit SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, 44 outbreaks were reported in 2021 in mink farms in seven MSs, while only six in 2022 in two MSs, thus representing a decreasing trend. The introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into mink farms is usually via infected humans; this can be controlled by systematically testing people entering farms and adequate biosecurity. The current most appropriate monitoring approach for mink is the outbreak confirmation based on suspicion, testing dead or clinically sick animals in case of increased mortality or positive farm personnel and the genomic surveillance of virus variants. The genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 showed mink-specific clusters with a potential to spill back into the human population. Among companion animals, cats, ferrets and hamsters are those at highest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which most likely originates from an infected human, and which has no or very low impact on virus circulation in the human population. Among wild animals (including zoo animals), mostly carnivores, great apes and white-tailed deer have been reported to be naturally infected by SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, no cases of infected wildlife have been reported so far. Proper disposal of human waste is advised to reduce the risks of spill-over of SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife. Furthermore, contact with wildlife, especially if sick or dead, should be minimised. No specific monitoring for wildlife is recommended apart from testing hunter-harvested animals with clinical signs or found-dead. Bats should be monitored as a natural host of many coronaviruses.
KW - control
KW - mink
KW - monitoring
KW - prevention
KW - public health
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - wildlife
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152708555&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7822
DO - 10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7822
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36860662
AN - SCOPUS:85152708555
SN - 1831-4732
VL - 21
JO - EFSA Journal
JF - EFSA Journal
IS - 2
M1 - e07822
ER -